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THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK

This weekend I stopped in at a local popular coffee shop to grab a cup of tea. I don’t usually stop but I was starting to feel a cold setting in. As I’m waiting for my tea, the man behind me orders a large Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino and then asks “you have egg white sandwiches right?” when the cashier answers yes he turns to his buddy and says, “I’m trying to eat healthier.” Does anyone else see the irony here? I couldn’t help but look up the calories of this drink monstrosity. The drink alone contains 520 calories, 23 g fat, 69 g of sugar, 76 g of carbohydrates, and 9 g of protein. Add a sandwich to this, and you’ve nearly already reached your calorie intake for the day.

Maybe it’s because when we drink something it doesn’t register to us that those are calories. Maybe it’s the lack of chewing required that allows us to live in the bliss of ignorance. But if you’re trying to be healthier, lose weight, or maintain a specific weight you need to think about all the calories you are consuming, even those you drink. And the less “empty” calories the better. You want the calories you’re consuming to carry with it nutrients, vitamins, fiber, and protein not sugar, fat, and high carbohydrates.

American coffee consumption is up 5%, but the problem is instead of a simple brew with maybe a packet of sugar, we are lifting mugs filled with gourmet drinks. Most of these gourmet blended drinks average 240 calories compared to a simple 75 calories for a regular brewed coffee with cream and sugar. A large Dunkin’ Donuts Frozen Mocha Coffee Coolatta with Cream, for example, contains 1,050 calories, 53 grams of fat and 127 grams of sugar. That’s more fat than you need for two days and more saturated fat than is healthy for a whole week. And the sugar, well that’s about 2/3 cup of sugar. With that much sugar and fat in one drink, you are spiking your blood sugar, overworking your pancreas, and wreaking havoc on your internal systems. Not to mention the crash you will feel later, causing you to reach for yet another cup of java to pick you back up.